South Morang

South Morang railway station is located on the Mernda line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the north-eastern Melbourne suburb of South Morang, and opened on 22 April 2012. History The first station on the site was Rail Motor Stopping Place No. 39, at the McDonalds Road level crossing on the former Whittlesea line, with a South Morang station a short distance further on. In its final years of operation, the passenger service was provided by a diesel electric railmotor (DERM). On 29 November 1959, the Victorian Railways closed the line north of Lalor, following the electrification of the line from Reservoir to Lalor. The line to Epping was electrified and re-opened on 29 November 1964, and the remaining section of track from Epping to Whittlesea dismantled, although the former right-of-way was left intact. Following the election of the Bracks State Government in October 1999, a promise was made to restore the rail service to South Morang by 2003. In 2004, it was decided a bus service would be introduced instead and, in May 2006, the original promise of restoring the railway was delayed until 2021. As a result of continued community pressure by the South Morang Rail Alliance, a coalition of community groups in the area, then Premier, John Brumby, announced in 2008 that construction of the extension would be brought forward to 2010, as part of the Victorian Transport Plan.